Daewoo E&C chief steps up global push for plant construction deals

Daewoo Engineering & Construction Chairman Jung Won-ju, left, shakes hands with Mozambican President Daniel Chapo in Maputo in this photo released, Thursday. Jung visited the African nation to discuss Daewoo E&C’s potential involvement in constructing a new LNG processing plant. Courtesy of Daewoo E&C

Daewoo Engineering & Construction Chairman Jung Won-ju is rolling up his sleeves and traveling the world to clinch plant construction deals.

According to the company, Jung is working hard for a “construction renaissance” through overseas projects. Over the past three years, the chairman has traveled across Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, meeting counterparts and leading dialogues while seeking to secure new contracts. Following Jungheung Group’s acquisition of Daewoo E&C in 2022, Jung became convinced that the company’s growth engine lay overseas, the company said.

A highly anticipated nuclear reactor construction project in the Czech Republic, signed earlier this month, would not have been possible without Daewoo E&C’s role. Daewoo E&C is responsible for construction in the project, which is led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power in the Dukovany region.

Daewoo E&C said the project marks the company’s reentry into Europe since 1995 when it acquired Polish carmaker FSO’s manufacturing plant and rebranded it Daewoo-FSO.

Last month, the company secured a 1 trillion won ($732 million) contract to build a fertilizer manufacturing plant in Turkmenistan, marking its first project in Central Asia. The company hopes the project will pave the way for additional deals in the country’s petrochemical and fertilizer sectors.

Not content to rest on his laurels, the chairman has maintained a busy schedule.

Also in May, he traveled to Indonesia, where he met with President Prabowo Subianto and discussed ways for the company to engage in new projects in real estate development, petrochemical plants and infrastructure development.

On Wednesday, he visited Mozambique and met with President Daniel Chapo to explore opportunities for the company to build a liquefied natural gas processing plant. His pitch was strengthened by previous projects in Nigeria and Botswana.

The construction firm is also working on domestic development projects.

It has won a bid for a seawall construction project at Busan New Port and a road expansion project aimed at improving traffic in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. It has also secured a villa apartment reconstruction project in Seoul’s Gangnam District, where it aims to strengthen its presence in the housing redevelopment market.

“All of us have a ‘building the globe’ mindset, which has been further strengthened thanks to the chairman — long before anyone in Korea even considered such a mission,” a Daewoo E&C official said. “To sustain the company for the next 100 years, we are diversifying our construction portfolio both overseas and at home.”